Abstract

We present data on the species composition of helminths in brown bears (Ursus arctos) from the Murmansk Region, Russia. The absence of any information about helminths of brown bear in the region necessitated the conduct of these studies. Samples were collected in 2014 and 2015 in the southern part of the Kola Peninsula from the White Sea coastal habitats. Annually, in the study area, 1–3 bears are legally hunted and biological samples for examination are very difficult to obtain. Therefore, we used fecal samples. We studied 93 feces and identified parasite eggs identified in 43 of them by morphometric criteria. The surveys revealed eggs of the following helminths: Dicrocoelium sp., Diphyllobothrium sp., Anoplocephalidae, Capillariidae, Baylisascaris sp., Strongylida 1, and Strongylida 2. These results represent the first reconnaissance stage, which allowed characterizing the taxonomic diversity and prevalence of parasites of brown bears of the Kola Peninsula.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to A.A. Sushchuk, PhD, Researcher at the Laboratory of Animal and Plant Parasitology (Institute of Biology KarRC RAS) for determinations of free-living soil-dwelling nematodes, and P.E. Dekola (KarRC RAS) for assistance during the field season. The research was funded by federal budgetary allocations for implementation of state assignment (0221-2014-0030; 0221-2014-0037); and Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant (№ 14-04-31796).